You Can't Expect the Unexpected
by bailford
Summary: Katniss takes the place of her sister Prim, but when Peeta is chosen Katniss suddenly realizes how much he has meant to her all these years. What lengths will she go through to save him? How could she have ever predicted what would happen? The Hunger Games is a jungle - not meant for the weak of heart.
1. Chapter 1: From the Start

-1-

Effie Trinket paused, and then said, "Now for the young men." Her hand dove into the bowl of boys' names like a greedy child. She searched and shuffled until she found one she wanted, pulled it out and unfolded it, then announced, "Peeta Mellark."

There was some whispering amongst the people in the crowd, everyone searching for the person in question. Katniss was frozen up on the stage, her breath caught in her throat, her eyes watering. _Why Peeta? He deserves least to die. He saved my family. He is better than this._ She watched as he was pulled along the people and then pushed into the arms of a Peace Keeper. That's when it hit her.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She slunk to her knees and everyone looked at her in complete shock. Katniss didn't do outbursts, and it was common knowledge that Katniss and Peeta did not associate with one another; she was just a girl from the seam. Peeta's eyes met hers with a questioning glance, but she couldn't read his expression, she couldn't even see fear in his eyes. They stood on the stage staring at one another while Effie talked muffled in the background.

"Well okay!" Effie clapped her hands together as she approached the microphone again and continued, "That's it everyone. Please make sure you stay tuned for this years' Hunger Games. Our brave tributes will be in the Town Hall to see their family members before they leave on their journey, so please do stop by if you'd like to wish them good luck."

The two tributes were escorted off the stage to the hall where Katniss was roughly shoved into a room to wait for her family, Peeta the same opposite her room.

The door abruptly swung open, "Katniss!" Katniss turned to see the face of her younger sister and mother. "Why did you do that? We need you. Oh Katniss I'm so scared," Prim said into the crook of Katniss' neck.

"Look at me little duck. You are so strong and perfectly capable of surviving without me. Gale will help you, use your goat's milk to make cheese and sell it. There are lots of things you can do, so don't you go worrying about me. I will be fine okay?" Katniss told her.

"Promise me," Prim said.

"Promise what?"

"Promise me you will try to win."

"I promise little duck," Katniss kissed her forehead and then turned around to face her mother. "And you. Be a mother to her. I have helped her grow up for all the years you weren't there. But I'm leaving, so you have to support our family. You have to be the one to do this mother. Don't disappear again just because I'm gone. Promise me that will never happen again," Katniss said.

"Oh sweetie, I know that I have made many mistakes since your father died, but I promise I am back for good. I'm just worried about you. Be careful and be smart sweet pea," Katniss' mother told her. Katniss nodded in response. "Oh, and what happened up on the stage today? Do you and Peeta have some kind of relationship?"

"Mother, one day I will explain everything to you, but let's just say that Peeta does not deserve this at all. He's one of the few people in this world that actually cares about helping others, no matter the consequences. I just don't want to see anything bad happen to him," Katniss told her. And then she snorted. "He doesn't even know who I am."

After her mother and Prim left, Gale came to see her. Some words were said, and Katniss could tell Gale was sad, and she felt just awful for leaving him here with their two families.

"Gale, please don't worry about me. I will fight until I don't have any fight left in me. It will be okay."

"Katniss, you don't know that. God Katniss, you don't even realize how in love with you I am do you? Of course I care about families and would do anything to protect them both, but can't you see why I'm upset?" Gale asked her. "If something happened to you, Katniss, I don't think I'd be able to survive it. I know you see me more as a big brother, but I just felt that you should know. You mean everything to me, you're why I keep fighting everyday. I couldn't bear not ever telling you that if something happened to you in there. I'll miss you."

Katniss was dumbstruck. "I'm sorry Gale, this just really threw me off, but I appreciate your honesty. You know how I feel, and I can't say the words back to you in a romantic way, but I do love you and I will miss you like crazy too. I promised Prim I would try to win, and I will try. I will give it my all, okay? Worry about our families and I'll worry about my safety."

They hugged goodbye quickly and the Madge came in to give Katniss her Mocking Jay pin. Katniss put it on her dress, and suddenly felt the nostalgic presence of her father. She began to recall a day when he father was teaching her to hunt and the birds in the trees were mimicking his singing.

She was quickly interrupted by a knock on the door and suddenly Mr. Mellark came in, a paper bag with him.

"Oh, hi Mr. Mellark," Katniss said nervously, still unsure about what he was doing there.

"Hello Katniss. I know this may seem strange to you, but I needed to stop by and say my goodbyes. I sure will miss your squirrels," he said with a laugh. "I just wanted to tell you that I am rooting for both Peeta and you. I don't know if there was something going on, but I don't really care either way. I know that he cares about you. So you two can keep each other safe. Please don't worry about your family either. My wife won't like it if she finds out but I will make sure they are taken care of sweetheart. You need to focus on coming back to us." He gave her a smile, " And I baked these for you, but Peeta decorated them. You'll have all sorts of amazing experiences on your trip, but here's a little something for you to keep and eat from home. We'll be looking for you." He kissed Katniss' forehead and then closed the door softly behind him.

"Okay, Katniss Everdeen? It is time for you to come with us and board the train," the Peace Keepers said. They grabbed her arms on either side as if she was going to try to escape and began to drag her towards the front doors. They got to the road and then shoved Katniss into a car, and she smacked into Peeta who was sitting next to her.

"Hi Katniss."

"Hi Peeta."

His hand brushed over her fingers, and he gave her a tight smile and said, "This will be an adventure, right?"

"Yeah I guess it will be," she replied and gave him a light smile back. She knew that she needed to talk to him before they went into the arena, or she would never work up the courage to again. _He needs to know. He needs to hear it. Somehow I just know it's what he's been waiting for. _


	2. Chapter 2: So Close

Thanks for all the reviews guys I really appreciate it! I didn't think about it until after I posted the chapter yesterday that I should probably have included an intro huh? Silly me!

I have been reading Hunger Games FanFiction stories since the trilogy became really popular, and like most people here I just can't seem to find a story that has all the elements I have always wanted. While I am writing this story I want you to know that while I have a lot of ideas about what I want to do with the story, I love hearing your ideas, criticisms and everything.

I solemnly promise to do my best to catch spelling and grammatical errors since it is kind of a pet peeve of mine, but please review with corrections if you feel I should be doing something differently.

-2-

The train lurched forward the second the doors shut behind them and Katniss fell onto Peeta who, after trying to stabilize them and failing miserably, landed beneath her and caught her fall.

"You okay Katniss?" Peeta asked her concerned, but with a slightly smirk beginning in the corner of his mouth. Katniss couldn't speak and opened her mouth only to close it again like a fish. "You know, all you had to do was ask if you wanted to get closer to me." He winked at her then, but it didn't help his case when he realized the furious look in her eyes.

She turned to storm off, embarrassingly red at his accusation, until he grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards him. "Katniss, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I was just joking around. Things are too tense around here and I needed to lighten the mood. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings or embarrassed you. Will you forgive me? I couldn't stand you being mad at me the last week we are going to be hanging out," Peeta's eyes searched hers for the answer he needed.

"Yeah, of course I forgive you. I couldn't be mad at you, I was just a little embarrassed, and pride is a huge thing for me if you haven't noticed," Katniss laughed, and Peeta joined her. Pretty soon they were falling on the floor laughing, a combination of the stress of the upcoming games and the tension that existed between them about the past. Pretty soon they slowed their laughing and we just lying next to one another on the ground when Effie walked in tittering around.

"What on Earth are my champions doing on the floor? Get up, get up! It is time for dinner. I am going to find Haymitch. I expect you both to be changed into appropriate clothing and sitting at the table when I get there. Chop chop!" She scolded them, moving through to the next compartment screaming Haymitch's name.

Peeta offered her a hand and pulled Katniss to her feet. She quietly thanked him and made a move to go through to the door to her compartment when she heard Peeta's quiet voice just behind her. "I'm scared Katniss. I am so scared of the future, I'm so scared of what the Capitol will do to us, I'm so scared they'll change me and you, and I'm so scared that I'll never get the courage to say the things that I want to say," Peeta whispered, and Katniss turned around, raising her hands to his cheek. As she brushed away tears that were threatening to fall, her heart broke. _Peeta is so strong, he can't possibly think that he isn't going to make it out of here. I can't stand to see him so hopeless. Where is the happy-go-lucky boy that I know is in there?_

But she put on a brave face and didn't ask him any of those questions, she just nodded her head and pulled him in for a quick hug and said, "I know Peeta Mellark, me too."

At the dinner table, you could cut the awkward silence with a knife. While Effie sputtered away talking about the terrible eating habits of the tributes from the previous games, and Haymitch practically falling asleep, Katniss and Peeta tried to finish their food as quickly as possible. The rich soups and creams and hot chocolate were delicious but were starting to give Katniss a stomach ache, not used to such rich food or in such quantities. Peeta and her kept exchanging glances over drinks while Effie continued unabated by Haymitch's uselessness and oblivious to the exchange between Katniss and Peeta.

Peeta tried to help the situation, but with Haymitch being so unresponsive, there was only so much he could do. "So, when are you going to start training us Haymitch? You're our mentor you know," Peeta said.

"Well look what we got here, a boy with an attitude. I ain't helping you with anything right now. I'm going to finish my dinner in silence, and then I'm going to refill my drink, and then I'm going to go back to my room so I can pass out and pretend I'm not on this damn train again," Haymitch said as he shoveled the last of his food into his mouth and began to scoot his chair back.

"Okay, we'll start tomorrow then. See you bright and early," Peeta replied. Haymitch snorted in response and left the dining car.

Effie sniffled and said, "I admire you for trying Peeta, really, but I have tried every year since I was assigned District 12, and to no avail. Don't bank on him giving you the advice you need, but I will keep trying with you, I will not stop persevering for you two, I can see something different about you two, I don't know what it is but it's something worth getting to the bottom of. I'm excusing myself for bed, you two ought to do the same, we'll be arriving at the Capital tomorrow. Good night." She also got up and left the dining car, leaving Katniss and Peeta sitting there alone.

"Uhhh, I need to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back," Katniss quickly got up, knocking her chair over and covering her mouth as she ran to find a bathroom. The food was too much for her stomach to handle and it was quickly rejecting everything she had eaten at dinner despite her hardest efforts to keep it down. She knew that she neeed food for fighting, but next time she would have to take it easy.

While she was wretching, someone's hand was suddenly rubbing her back and pulling her hair back from her face. "Peeta, stop, I don't want you to see me like this," Katniss said.

"Katniss, you couldn't get me to leave you like this even if you tried your hardest. I am fine right where I am, I am going to take care of you, and you are going to like it," Peeta replied triumphantly with a smile. "Besides," he added, "you aren't in any position to be debating this with me, so just say thank you and get over it."

When she was finally done wretching everything up, something she absolutely hated doing, let alone in front of the boy she had been in love with since he gave her bread for her family. _Woah, love? Is that really what this is? That's new... _Peeta picked her up and carried her back to her room, like all the energy had been zapped from her body. He picked out pajamas for her, and looked away as she changed. Then he carried her into the bathroom and set her down on a chair where he gave her a toothbrush with toothpaste to wash the taste out of her mouth. When she was done, he picked up again and she nuzzled into his chest. He was just tucking her into bed when, in her lethargic state, a few terrifying words left her mouth, "Stay with me."

She nuzzled her face into his neck without even thinking about it and inhaled his general Peeta smell of bread, cinnamon, and frosting. Peeta froze, "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes, I really mean that Peeta. I know we aren't really very close but I think you know me well enough to know that I would never - " Katniss was cut off by Peeta pulling his shirt off and crawling into bed behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Shhh, just go to sleep. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere," Peeta said.

It was quiet for a few minutes when Katniss interrupted him, "Peeta, there's something I need to tell you. It's really important and I've been meaning to tell you this since that day when you threw me the bread..." She waited for a sound, a movement, a remark, but all she heard was soft snoring. _I'll have to tell him tomorrow, as soon as possible. For now, I am just going to enjoy his arms wrapped around me. _


End file.
